Title: The Winemaker’s Wife          

Author: Kristin Harmel        

Genre: Historical Fiction      

Publisher: Gallery Books       

Format: Paperback 

Pages: 400

Rating: 5/5 stars 

Synopsis (Goodreads):

The author of the engrossing international bestseller The Room on Rue Amélie returns with a moving story set amid the champagne vineyards of northern France during the darkest days of World War II, perfect for fans of Kristin Hannah’s The Nightingale.

Champagne, 1940: Inès has just married Michel, the owner of storied champagne house Maison Chauveau, when the Germans invade. As the danger mounts, Michel turns his back on his marriage to begin hiding munitions for the Résistance. Inès fears they’ll be exposed, but for Céline, half-Jewish wife of Chauveau’s chef de cave, the risk is even greater—rumors abound of Jews being shipped east to an unspeakable fate.

When Céline recklessly follows her heart in one desperate bid for happiness, and Inès makes a dangerous mistake with a Nazi collaborator, they risk the lives of those they love—and the champagne house that ties them together.

New York, 2019: Liv Kent has just lost everything when her eccentric French grandmother shows up unannounced, insisting on a trip to France. But the older woman has an ulterior motive—and a tragic, decades-old story to share. When past and present finally collide, Liv finds herself on a road to salvation that leads right to the caves of the Maison Chauveau. 

Review:

Thank you @simonschusterca for the copy of this book!

–

I absolutely loved this book! It goes back and forth between World War Two era and present day, and focuses on a champagne house in Champagne region of France! Ines’ husband owns the champagne house, and she lives there along with the wine maker, Theo, and his wife Celine. When the Germans invaded France in World War Two, they get caught up in some action that the four of them never dreamed they would! Flash forward to present day, Liv has just ended her marriage when she gets a strange request from her grandmother to go to Paris and rediscover her family’s past! One thing about this book that I loved is nothing is for certain! Every time I thought I had this story figured out, something would change and have me rethinking the whole thing! Definitely kept me on my toes!

–

Ines is a character that interested me the most because you feel so many different things towards this character! She frustrates you, yet she makes you empathize with her, and you understand what she’s going through even when she’s annoying and you question the character’s motives and actions! Celine and Liv are also interesting characters in their own right, and I really liked the focus on strong women in this book! Recently published on August 13, I highly recommend you pick this one up for your next historical fiction read! 

Happy reading!